Regarding the issue of strictly controlling the number of printing enterprises:

(1) Stated in the "Plan of the CPC Central Committee Publicity Department, Political and Legal Commission and Press and Publication Bureaus for the First Half of 1999 on Combating Pornographic and Illegal Publications", distributed by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, the printing industry should be examined and sorted out.

Lack of control over and the poor management of printing enterprises, especially small-scale ones, are the main reasons contributing to the publication of illegal publications, pirated books and counterfeit tickets, notes and receipts. According to the "Circular of the State Council on Further Strengthening the Administration of Publications" and the "Circular on Sorting Out the Printing Industry in China", published by the State Press and Publication Bureau, the Ministry of Public Relations and the State Industrial and Commercial Bureau, the printing industry of China will be examined and improved.

Illegal printing should be examined and prohibited. All printing enterprises should be examined and re-registered. Low-quality printing enterprises that are redundant should be closed. The overall purpose of the campaign is to control the number printing factories, optimize the industry structure, achieve regulation management and promote the healthy development of the printing industry in China.

(2) According to the "Tenth Five Year Plan on Macro-control and the Structural and Layout Arrangement of Printing Industries", compiled during the 2000 China Printing Administration Roundtable Meeting, the printing industry in China should further implement the important principle of "control the overall number, adjust the structure, arrange the layout, improve the quality and regulate the operations for a sustained, healthy and steady development of the printing Industry".

Major targets of the printing industry in number, structure and layout during the "Tenth Five Year Plan" period include further:

(i) Improving the market of the printing industry;

(ii) strengthening the control of the overall number of printing enterprises;

(iii) optimizing the structure of printing industry, and

(iv) improving the layout of printing enterprises.

The actual number of printing enterprises in Shanghai has been specified, in order to control the numbers.

(3) According to the requirements of the State Press and Publication Bureau on controlling the overall number of printing enterprises, and since the current number of printing enterprises has already exceeded the set target, more low-quality printing enterprises should be closed and no new printing enterprises should be approved in the near future.